Pork Loin di Parma

There’s something about a good roast that is just so damn impressive.

It could be a whole chicken with just a few simple dressings, a cheap cut of meat cooked low and slow, or in this case a trussed up pork loin stuffed with mushrooms and wrapped in prosciutto. A roast is the king of all family style dinners: it’s gorgeous, it smells and tastes like heaven, and it’s the only centerpiece you need.

Now, I don’t know who invented “Engagement Chicken”, but ohhhhh baby I think I found it’s usurper. What a man really wants is pork covered in pork anyway, right? Well, that’s what I want too…and as they say, happy wife happy life. So, for happiness all around the table, there’s my Pork Loin di Parma! Feast your eyes on this hunk o’ love:

 

 

To make Pork Loin di Parma, you’ll need:

2.5-3 lb pork loin

3 c. chopped baby bella mushrooms

2 large shallots, minced

1 c. parmesan cheese, grated

Thyme (fresh or dried)

5 sprigs fresh rosemary

6-8 slices prosciutto di parma

olive oil

salt, pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Over medium heat, sauté the minced shallot, mushrooms, and about a tablespoon of thyme. Once the mushrooms just begin to soften, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

Now, address the pork loin. Lay it on your cutting board, perpendicular to you. With a sharp knife, cut 1/2″ above the underside of the loin. Continue slicing inward, pulling back the meat with your free hand and unrolling the roast like a carpet, until the entire loin is flat. If it’s not perfectly flat, no worries, because the next step will make it all even.

Place a sheet of clingwrap or parchment paper over the pork, and pound it with a meat mallet to even thickness.

 

 

Uncover the pork and season it liberally with salt and pepper, then spread the mushroom mixture and parmesan cheese evenly over. Now, roll it up into a tight cylinder. Lay the prosciutto slices over the loin, overlapping as you go and tucking the ends underneath.

Now comes the tricky part: trussing. You CAN tie individual pieces of kitchen twine around it at one inch intervals. Or you can try and get all fancy and do it with one long strand. I had to look it up haha, so if you’re in need of a good instructional video, use the one I did: here.

 

 

Once it’s trussed, tuck a few sprigs of rosemary beneath the twine, place the whole thing in a roasting pan, and pop it in the oven. Now, depending on the size of your loin, it should roast for an hour to an hour and twenty minutes…but if you have a meat thermometer, cook until the internal temperature is 145 degrees.

Once the roast is done, let it rest for fifteen minutes (and take off the rosemary sprigs), then slice and serve! (We had ours with a heaping side of home-made apple sauce!)

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Cottage Pie

Well, it’s still pushing ninety degrees over here in SoCal. While my social media is flooded with scarves, pumpkin spice lattes, and actual long pants, I’m shvitzing in front of the fan and trying to remember a time when it wasn’t summer.

In an effort to encourage the arrival of fall weather, I chose the coolest day of the week (78 degrees! Brrrrr!) and made cottage pie. It’s bountiful, bubbling, and downright cozy. It’s the dinner equivalent of a snuggly flannel shirt. And for now, it’s as close as I’ll get to feeling like it’s October.

 

 

You’ll need:

2 lb. chuck roast

2 c. chopped carrots

1 c. chopped celery

1.5 c. frozen (or fresh) peas

1 small yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. rosemary

2 tbsp. flour

2 c. red wine

2 c. beef broth

4 russet potatoes

1 stick butter

salt, pepper

 

 

Dice your chuck roast in large 2″ cubes and dry them with a towel. This is so important, as drying the beef will allow it to brown properly.

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large dutch oven or wide-bottomed pot. Give the beef cubes a liberal sprinkle of salt and pepper, then place them in the oil to brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and set them aside on a plate.

Now add all of the vegetables (except for the peas!), garlic, and herbs. Simmer away for five minutes over medium heat, then add the wine and broth to deglaze the pan. Add the beef back into the pot, cover, and simmer on low for 2 hours.

While that is bubbling away, start on your mashed potatoes. Peel your potatoes and boil them until fork tender. Remove to a mixing bowl and whip (by hand or with mixer), adding 3/4 stick of butter as you go. Season with salt and set aside.

 

 

Remove the beef chunks from the pot and shred with two forks…it should be falling apart tender. Meanwhile, leave the juices and veggies to simmer and reduce. Add the flour and a knob of butter to help it thicken. Now add the shredded beef and frozen peas, stir, and remove from the heat.

If you are using a dutch oven, you can add the potatoes directly on top now. If you would rather use a casserole dish, then pour the beef and veggie stew into a casserole and cover with the mashed potatoes. With either method, finish in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the mash has a golden crust.

 

 

Serve with an enormous glass of delicious Cabernet.

 

 

 

On The Menu

If you follow me on social media, you’ll have seen my super awesome very exciting announcement earlier this month!

But I’ll say it again, because the thrill certainly hasn’t gone from saying it…

I am going to be on an upcoming episode of TNT’s new series, On The Menu!

 

 

Naturally, I am a huge fan of all cooking shows. The huge downside, however, is that the most interaction I get with a show comes from me yelling at the contestants on the TV that they forgot an ingredient or didn’t cook the chicken how I would have. And after all the effort I put in as a viewer, I don’t even get to eat that gorgeous plate of food on the screen! Very upsetting indeed.

Well, that’s all about to change. On The Menu is TV’s first cooking competition show that gives viewers the chance to taste the winning dish after every episode! The always-charming Emeril Lagasse and hilarious Ty Pennington team up as the shows’ hosts, serving up laughs and wisdom in equal measures. Each episode, four passionate home cooks are tasked with creating a new and delicious dish for the menu of a popular American restaurant (such as Chili’s, Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, etc.). Emeril and Ty challenge the cooks with brand knowledge, creativity, kitchen savvy, and the always formidable time management! In the end, executives from each restaurant award one deserving home cook with the honor of placing their dish on menus all across the country…the very next day!

 

 

It is a huge honor to be a part of such an innovative show, and to have cooked alongside such talented home cooks. The episode I compete in airs November 28th, but I can’t encourage you enough to watch all season long! I hope you’re hungry!

On The Menu premiers TONIGHT, on TNT at 8:00pm ET/PT. You can watch the trailer HERE.

To learn more about TNT’s On The Menu, follow this link to the official site.

 

 

This Season’s Schedule:

Chili’s – October 3rd

Denny’s – October 10th

California Pizza Kitchen – October 17th

Planet Hollywood – October 24th

Emeril’s Restaurant – October 31st

The Cheesecake Factory – November 7th

Cabo Wabo/Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill – November 14th

Outback Steakhouse – November 21st

Buca Di Beppo – November 28th

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit – December 5th

 

 

 

 

*Photos obtained from official On The Menu Facebook page*

Canine Cuisine

Wyatt is our best friend, professional snuggler, tree enthusiast, water hound, wiggly dancer and all around tiny baby. In my perfect world he would live forever as the healthy and frolicking hound he is now. And even though I’m aware that will never happen, I’m doing my best to provide as long and lovely a life as he deserves.

Because he’s a precocious tiny mushy fur ball of fun.

 

 

You are what you eat, as the saying goes. Well, then most of the time Wyatt is a hefty bag of Nutro Natural Choice, preferably the venison one. A few times a month, however, he’s a big bowl of homemade goodness.

Veterinarians are very enthusiastic about homemade food, when introduced appropriately. There are some things to consider though, The main concern is that pet parents, though they mean well, are not providing the appropriate amounts of calcium their dog needs. That’s why most vets will highly encourage a regimen of part store-bought food and part homemade. Store-bought food will always have enough calcium, sometimes even more than enough. Homemade food, on the other hand, ensures you know exactly what is going into your hound and ensures whole foods which are better digested for nutrient absorption.

Remember to always serve their food at room temperature, alongside plenty of water. As far as portion control goes, 1.75 cups per day per 30 lbs. is a good place to start for an active dog. Always check with your vet before introducing a homemade diet.  

 

 

Below are the typical ingredients found in Wyatt’s bowl:

Chicken (baked plain or boiled, shredded): Protein needs to make up 40%, but no more than 50% of the serving

Brown Rice: A great basic starch, though there are other options (see below)

Apples (skin on): Full of Vitamins A & C, as well as fiber. Absolutely do NOT feed your dog apple cores, however, as apple seeds contain cyanide. Once or twice as an accident will most likely not affect your dog, however if eaten as a regular treat, apple cores will cause deleterious effects.

Cottage cheese: A great source of calcium, though not enough on it’s own to meet the high-calcium needs of your dog. Also a lean protein. Most dogs do well with dairy, but when first introducing it into their diet start with small amounts.

Eggs (scrambled): A source of easily digestible protein, as well as riboflavin and selenium. Make sure you’re feeding your dog cooked eggs, though, as raw egg whites can cause a biotin efficiency. Remember that a little baggie of scrambled eggs can be a great as training treats! Dogs weighing more than 25 lbs. can have a whole egg every day, though give less to smaller dogs.

Sweet Potato (white or orange): Another great source of fiber, as well as vitamins B6, C, beta carotene, and manganese. Feed small chunks of cooked sweet potato in your homemade dog food, or you can dry out thin strips in the oven and give to your hound as a chewy treat!

Carrots: Low calorie and high in fiber and beta carotene. Can be cooked, or given raw as a treat and good for their teeth!

Calcium Carbonate: 600mg per 15 pounds of body weight. If you’re mixing a homemade diet with store-bought food, however, you do not need to supplement as heavily. Most store-bought dog food has adequate or even excessive amounts of calcium and phosphorus.

 

Other delicious ingredients to consider including:

For starches (25% of serving): Whole grain pasta, barley, oats, beans, quinoa

For Fruits & Veggies (25% of serving): Bananas, kale, blueberries, peanut butter, melon, carrots, collard green, zucchini (remember that raw vegetables must be pureed or cooked to break down their cell walls and render them fully digestible to dogs)

For good fats: Fish oil, cod liver oil, canola oil, olive oil, safflower oil, coconut oil

 

 

There are SO many “people foods” out there that are perfect for your best bud, but a handful can be potentially life-threatening. Here are common foods that you should never ever give your dog:

Grapes, raisins, apple cores, cooked meat bones, raw Pacific salmon, trout, large amounts of liver, raw broccoli or cauliflower, whole leafy greens, macadamia nuts, walnuts, chocolate, tea, coffee, onions, excessive amounts of garlic

If your pooch is having any kind of respiratory problems, symptoms of arthritis, or inflammation, stay away from members of the nightshade family. This includes potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.